One thing that can get really confusing when dealing with OCD, or anything for that matter is the terminology. I mean even “OCD” is an Acronym…which really stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. To hopefully clear up any confusion you may have, I have decided to make a list of common Words, Phrases, and Acronyms in this OCD Glossary. This way if you ever come across something and you are unsure as to what it means you can revert back to this list and you should be able to find the answer.

This list will be categorized alphabetically and I will do my best to continuously add words or phrases:

A:

Adolescence: The period of a person’s life that incorporates the teenaged years all the way through the early twenties.

Analyzing past events – This is when one repeatedly tries to review past events to identify if certain things happened. An example would be someone thinking back to try and remember if they ever touched anything that was contaminated as a...

I will now discuss different types of compulsions and their role in the obsessive cycle. To recap the definition: compulsions are behaviors, both physical and mental, that a person engages in to alleviate, eliminate, and relieve themselves of the obsessions, and the anxiety or uncomfortable feelings caused by obsessions.

Here is a list of some types of Compulsive Behaviors or Rituals people often engage in:

Thought blocking – or trying to prevent a thought from entering your mind

Thought suppression – or trying to stop thinking or focusing on certain thoughts

Thought replacement – or trying to purposely think of something in order to distract your mind from a negative thought

Counting – when one counts numbers or objects in order to distract themselves from unwanted thoughts

Praying – when one engages in praying to God or any other religious figure to address unwanted thoughts. This is a tricky compulsion because one must...

To put it very simply, an obsession is a thought. Obsessions are unwanted, repeating thoughts, ideas, images, or impulses that invade a person’s mind. A person experiencing obsessions usually does not want to experience these thoughts. These obsessions often are disturbing, disruptive, and painful for the person experiencing them. Further, obsessions are generally accompanied by extremely uncomfortable feelings or sensations. For example, a person with obsessions may complain about excessive worry, feeling gross or disgusting, and having an unusual amount of fear and anxiety. Finally, obsessions have the tendency to get worse with time, if not dealt with properly. This means that the person experiencing these thoughts will notice that the thoughts start to occur more frequently throughout the day and at an increasingly powerful level. [i] [ii]

Given that, here is my list of the different types of obsessive thoughts people may experience.

So what do I mean by Victory? When I describe a victory over obsessive or depressive thoughts, I am speaking of a detachment or independence from them. I often describe my experience with obsessive thoughts like being held in a prison when I share my story with others. Therefore, a victory means escaping the prison of obsessive thoughts.

A victory doesn’t necessarily refer to the absence of obsessive thoughts, but instead getting your life back from them. A victory over obsessions means to declare your independence from obsessions and to no longer allow them to have any power or control over your life. Once you achieve victory over your obsessions you will start to take back control of your life. Using the prison parallel described above, let’s consider the following analogy when describing an OCD victory. If a person is released from a prison they are no longer controlled by that establishment. The prison no longer dictates any portion of that person’s...

When I first began on my journey to create OCD Victory, it was my goal to create something that I wish had been available when I first began seeking help for my obsessions. Back then I didn’t even know what obsessions were, I just knew that these crazy thoughts kept repeating and repeating in my head and I wanted help.

To put simply, the OCD Academy was created by someone who has dealt with obsessions for other people dealing with obsessions. The OCD Victory platform were designed to offer you the best information, strategies, and tools possible for combating obsessive thoughts, anxiety, and depression. This platform was designed to be the bridge that takes you from being consumed by obsessions to living the life you were meant to live.

Over the past several years, there seems to be more information readily available about obsessions on the internet. However, I am noticing that very few sites really offer the material and information necessary to truly achieve victory...